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Blaze mentions in "At the end of the Day - The Story of the Blaze Bayley band" that he wasn't informed until January 1999, and that Rod told him that Bruce is coming back.

However, in the Run to the Hills biography he gives another recollection - there he says Rod told him that nothing had been sorted out with Bruce yet (propably not any contracts signed yet, but that they had negotiated/spoken with him).

I think having Bruce back in the band gave them a better deal on the bond they signed at the time as well:

British heavy metal band Iron Maiden has launched its first hit on the bond market, selling securities worth $30m that are backed by the flow of royalties from recordings made during a 20 year career.

The band is effectively taking out a $30m loan and promises to pay back its creditors through future earnings - a financial tool called 'securitisation'.

In the corner of a deserted hotel bar, Steve Harris is intrigued to learn of McBrain’s earlier remarks about ’anging it up. “Did Nick really say that?” he frowns, looking puzzled. “Naaah, even if Blaze had stayed in the band we’d still have been touring this summer and making the next album abroad - even looking for a producer because Nigel Green [who worked alongside Steve on both ‘The X Factor’ and ‘Virtual XI’] isn’t available to do it.”

So I'll guess if the first meetings with Bruce wouldn't have worked out, they would have auditioned singers during the spring of 1999 (or Steve would have kept Blaze in the band a little longer - at least for the summer tour in 1999 promoting the Ed Hunter Game/CD?)

Ancient Mariner

So I'll guess if the first meetings with Bruce wouldn't have worked out, they would have auditioned singers during the spring of 1999 (or Steve would have kept Blaze in the band a little longer - at least for the summer tour in 1999 promoting the Ed Hunter Game/CD?)

Automaton Sovietico

So if Bruce/Adrian rejoining was a declassified information in January 1999, how does that put reunion in February 1999?
At Chemical Wedding tour leg 1/2, Bruce let know his band that he's rejoining Maiden. That's the end of 1998.

November/December 1998, Smith and Dickinson rejoin. After Christmas holidays, the business stuff starts rolling, Blaze is informed that his services will no longer be required, securitization goes on (doubtful without Bruce, Maiden sales were stagnating after a huge downfall at that moment), press releases get prepared, etc.

I can't believe people here believe that Dickinson went to talk once with the guys and they left for pub and lived happily after.

European leg of The Chemical Wedding tour happened while Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith were in Iron Maiden. Prove me wrong.

My educated guess is that Rod was working behind the scenes trying to get everything sorted during the Virtual XI Autumn tour/Chemical Wedding Autumn tour. Apparently it took a lot to persuade Steve and it was not until he met with Bruce near Rod's house that the deal was sealed. This meeting could well have taken place before the Virtual XI South American tour, after the Virtual XI tour or in early 1999. Some other sources say that Bruce was still in two minds during the Christmas holidays though...

Ancient Mariner

This is very much key to this whole conversation. Even without all the bad blood, these kinds of deals are fairly sizeable things to organize so it's very difficult to believe Steve and Bruce met once in 1999 or so and that's that. It would've taken months of planning to resolve all potential sources of difficulty (like preexisting contracts and agreements with parties like record labels and distributors on Bruce's side) and develop a clear communication strategy for once the news comes out. You don't just embark on something like this on a whim.

Automaton Sovietico

Blaze gets a lay off note in January. For him to be laid off business needs to be taken care of. Since beginning of January is still a holiday season, this would leave the management with two weeks to take care of the paperwork and prepare the exit strategy for Blaze. This supposed audition is a rumour MTV says that HardRadio says. Blaze knew Bruce is replacing him when he was laid off.

Cain, my version of the things leaves quite a window for them too meet in London late Nov/early Dec.

"Reunion" for me, is a non tangible thing, a moment when 6 of them decided to play together and make Maiden great again. Not at the moment of signature (do you want to spend eternity with your wife only from the moment of saying yes on the altar, or that occurred to you both when proposal was a success), not at the moment of press release.

Therefore, the one claiming that reunion happened in 1999, also claims that the "reunion" business case can be solved in 41 days tops. It's a merger between two enterprises, $30 million worth, one 23 and one 8 year old, with layoffs to be done. Intellectual property created by the laid off staff to be used for future, without the staff consenting to such usage by contract default. And all that happens after the shareholders agree to mend up their differences.

Ancient Mariner

Maiden didn't play an encore in Rio on the second of December as Blaze's performance was so bad. I would be inclined to think that if the band were already making Machievelian moves towards Bruce that a bad performance from Blaze would not be a huge issue.

Of course it is a different situation, but at the end of the day dates chosen to celebrate something tend to be more symbolic than anything else. I'll continue to celebrate 10th February as reunion day, even though such reunion had been some time in the making.

Ancient Mariner

Automaton Sovietico

Sure mate. I really don't feel anything in regards to how and when you celebrate this. It isn't important. What is, is the potential irrelevance of the Blaze's performance in South America and gig cancellation if my version is correct. Rod Smallwood had this reunion in his plans from the moment he found out about Dickinson and Smith and Accident Of Birth, for sure. The often cited bad Blaze performance couldn't be the factor if the band was already open to getting Dickinson back, the decision to part ways with Blaze at a later date was already done.

The years just pass like trains

I agree with Zare. As soon as Adrian and Bruce got together, a Maiden reunion must’ve been seen as an inevitability on the side of management. I wouldn’t be surprised if Rod even floated the idea with someone sometime between the end of X Factour and Virtual XI.

I think we’ll learn the whole story when Maiden is no longer active. Imo that’s a big reason why the Donington 92 dvd hasn’t been released yet. No point discussing bad blood or low points in their history when they are on top of the world again.

Ancient Mariner

Whatever Rod may have wanted, whenever he may have wanted it, the band was surely not having any of it, until that meeting with Bruce. People from the band were not interested/enthralled by Bruce's solo music.

The band themselves hated the term reunion. Bruce included, he even ranted against it. The band never broke up.